Order a paperback copy of ana spoke’s books and you can get this.
Category: writing
Goodies from the land down under.
I have been wanting Ana Spoke’s books since I found her page on WordPress and I didn’t want online books. I wanted something to hold and touch. I contacted her and she does have printed books, so I used paypal for speed and in no time the books were here. We are talking about Australia to North Carolina in the USA. She autographed them both for me and I am settling down to read them. She is very nice and even though she is extremely busy, she answered all my emails. The printed books are very good quality. The funny thing is her home to mine is 9989 miles, but the book was actually printed in Charleston, SC which is only 125 miles from here. Small world indeed.
Voice to text…I love you.
I do everything I can to make it easier to get work done. I finally found a program to put my note collection on my laptop so I can work with it. It was a long process of looking and thinking and looking somemore. I settled on Evernote and I love it. I have it synched with my phone and laptop. I can put stuff in notebooks and tag it for easy look up. I have 24 books of notes and 350 emails full of notes, etc. Evernote lets me move all that online and to the cloud. I dont have the patience or the memory to go through all that and not forget a juicy tidbit. My process involves quickly writing an idea and forgetting it. I write it so I dont have to remember it. I have been pounding the keyboards to enter all this and work and regular activites slow down the process. It dawned on me to try voice to text. Play the theme song to “Rocky”. It has saved me so much time. Its a pleasure to pick out what notes i really love and speak it onto my phone and directly into Evernote. To tell the truth, I was not enjoying the lengthy process of transcribing all that info online. I am having fun now. I have 18 notebooks to go and I am going to use 95% voice to text. I still want to use the keyboard so I wont lose what typing skills I have.
My newest manual laptop
I had another great day exploring a thrift store. I found a Olympia SM8 from 1976 still in its case. Someone had messed up the ribbon, but I cut out the bad part and reinstalled it. Types great. No other adjusting needed. I did clean the surface of some scuffs and stains and it looks new. It’s funny how things change and you don’t notice. I can’t find any typing paper. It is all printer or copy paper. You have to order typing paper online.
The case had a 25 dollar sticker for a “desktop computer”. I thought that was funny.
My new friend
I found a new tool to help my writing.I already have two, but they are 1927 and 1947 royals.They weigh a ton. This one is a 1961, or 2, royal signet.It is lightweight and portable. I got it at a thrift store for 35 dollars. It has the case and paperwork. I cleaned it up and it types great. I ordered a new ribbon from ebay.
I had the chance to watch the new film “California Typewriter”. I watched it 3 times in a row. It is a film about the history of typewriters and has many celebrities talking about their love of the machines and a company that still repairs and restores them. Watch it. It was made for us.
Depression…or whatever it is.
- I have been in a funk lately. I dont know if it is depression or one of my other troubles. I dont care about anything. I feel numb. It hasn’t affected my writing or note taking. My Muse sendd me a steady supply. I am writing ideas on my note app and on my folded note papers and even straight into my sketch/note books. Im well into note book 22 now. I probably need to go see somebody. Maybe I need to “get” on something. There is too much “noise” in my life. Ask any introvert about noise. For us, it’s not too good. I need a quiet place. I wonder if the medicine of quiet time might help.
Depression…or whatever it is.
- I have been in a funk lately. I dont know if it is depression or one of my other troubles. I dont care about anything. I feel numb. It hasn’t affected my writing or note taking. My Muse sendd me a steady supply. I am writing ideas on my note app and on my folded note papers and even straight into my sketch/note books. Im well into note book 22 now. I probably need to go see somebody. Maybe I need to “get” on something. There is too much “noise” in my life. Ask any introvert about noise. For us, it’s not too good. I need a quiet place. I wonder if the medicine of quiet time might help.
My New Space
I have been away for a while now. I left a bad situation and I have been laying low. I have read many posts and commented on them, but I haven’t written any of my own. I have a new desk and supplies to go with it. I didn’t buy anything new. I went to thrift stores and craigslist to get everything. It took months piecing it together. I wanted a desk like the one I used to own ,but couldn’t find one so I bought a roll top desk. I am very happy with it and I don’t think I will ever be happy without one. They are amazing and filled with many hiding places. This is one of the largest I have ever seen. It is 54 inches wide. I replaced the locks and keys on it. The people I got it from bought a bigger storage desk unit with shelves on it and needed to get this one out of the way. I have my old typewriter hanging out on top. I found some vintage items to place around on it. Just for fun. I did splurge on one item. I found a LED light bar for my work light. It is awesome and doesn’t get in the way. It has 5 different light settings and has a USB port built into the side. I took out the under side keyboard slide and built a drawer to replace it. I have even more room. I hate those keyboard slide trays.
Writers and rejections
This is a very good article.
Note page 200
I reached page 200 of saved notes for stories and fragments of dialogue, etc. These pages come from my Notepad app. Whenever I have an idea or hear something funny, I write it down. I have to be quick or I will forget it. I still do handwritten notes at work. Those are the ones I cut up and paste in my books. The note app is a life saver. I grab the phone and start typing. When I am happy with the length of the page I text it to my google account and store it.
Old typewriter, new ideas 